Explosion Rocks Saudi Oil Refinery, Pipeline Damaged, Friday, February 24, 2006, Al-Arabiya TV
~ An explosion rocked an oil refinery in Abqaiq in eastern Saudi Arabia, a result of failed suicide bomb attacks, damaging a pipeline
~ Two vehicles packed with explosives tried to storm refinery but Saudi forces foiled attempted suicide attacks
~ BBC said attack is the first direct assault on Saudi oil production
~ Reacting on news of explosion, crude oil futures soared past $62 in early trading in New York on Friday
~ CNN said three Saudi security forces were killed and 10 were injured when they opened fire on three cars believed to have been carrying suicide bombers
~ authorities have been concerned about terrorist attacks targeting oil refineries
~ since Saudi branch of international terrorist group, al-Qaida, called on such attacks in December 2004
~ BBC said about two-thirds of Saudi Arabia's oil is processed at Abqaiq
~ site near Persian Gulf is about 330 kilometers east of Riyadh and is home to the world's biggest oil reserve

»New study raises doubts about Saudi oil reserves
~ With over 260 billion barrels of proven oil reserves, a quarter of the world's total,
~ Saudi Arabia is not only top foreign supplier to United States - the world's largest energy consumer - but also essentially sole source of liquidity in oil market
~ According to Department of Energy's Energy Information Administration (EIA), world will become more dependent on Arabian oil in next two decades
~ To meet global demand for oil, Saudi Arabia will need to produce 13.6 million barrels a day (mbd) by 2010 and 19.5 mbd by 2020.
~ Both International Energy Agency and EIA assume Saudi oil output will double over next 15 to 20 years